Fugitive
by yeti activist
Summary: She'd lost track after the first few days. It all had become a blur of cheap hotels ,fast food dinners and long days and nights of driving. Post-finale fic about Mulder and Scully's time on the run before IWTB.
1. Chapter 1

finally finished this! I started writing this almost a year ago lol! this is the first chapter to a story that'll take place while mulder and scully are on the run between 'the truth' and IWTB. not sure how many chapters it will be.

anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy! if you could spare the time to review I would very much so appreciate it :)

* * *

The hum of the car's engine and the tires grinding against the rubble were the only sounds she heard.

Scully leaned on the car door, tapping her fingers aimlessly on the door handle. She glanced momentarily towards Mulder, who was focused on the road ahead, his hands gripped tightly on the steering wheel. He looked tired, but then again so was she.

How long had it been?

Three weeks? Definitely not.

A month? No.

Three months ? Maybe.

She'd lost track after the first few days. It all had become a blur of cheap hotels ,fast food dinners and long days and nights of driving. In some ways it faintly reminded her of all the times she and Mulder had driven out to investigate countless absurd cases of alien abductions, psychics and who really knew what. But at the same time, it was completely different. They weren't FBI agents anymore. How she wished they still were. But they were fugitives now, or at least he was, hiding from a government they used to work for. A government they- or at least she- used to trust.

On the run the both of them had been since Mulder had broken out of prison-

" Scully." Mulder's voice shattered her thoughts.

"Hm?"

" I've been talking to you for the past five minutes."

" Oh, sorry." She was still facing to the window, watching the barren landscape and it's tiny pale bushes race past the car. Scully turned to Mulder. " What were you saying?" She added tonelessly.

"That I have no idea where we are."

"Oh. " Scully replied. She turned back to watch the tumbleweeds pass by the window.

" Isn't this the part where you insist we stop for directions and I insist I know where I'm going?" Mulder joked.

Scully looked at her partner again to give him a one of her looks, only to find Mulder appearing even more exhausted since the last time she looked at him.

" Mulder, why don't you let me drive? You've been driving nonstop for hours." She murmured softly." You're exhausted." Scully reached out to touch his arm. " C'mon Mulder, let me drive."

" I'm fine." He pulled away from her touch.

" Mulder-"

" No, really, I'm fine, Scully. " He turned to her briefly to flash her a brisk smile that seemed just a tad too forced.

She sighed irritably, leaning back on the seat. Scully debated in her head whether to speak her mind. After sighing, and crossly tapping on the armrest for a few moments she finally decided to speak her mind.

" I don't understand it. " Scully grumbled, biting at her lip.

" What?"

" I don't get why you always insist to drive. You did it when we worked together." He seemed to ignore her comment. She raised her voice " Is it some sort of male dominance thing?"

Mulder ignored her again. He clenched his jaw- that was his only response.

" That's it, isn't it? It's you establishing dominance. It's your way of making me submit to you."

" I'm not establishing dominance." He finally responded, sounding as irritable as her. " I just want to drive. Okay? "

" Fine, whatever. " She muttered under her breath, turning back to the window disgruntled. The arguing always got worse between them the more exhausted the two were. And they were both, very very tired at the moment.

The road had just begun to get unexpected bumpy, the car rocking inharmoniously with every turn of the wheel. Scully felt sick to her stomach. It felt almost as if she had been thrown onto a roller coaster without warning. She winced at every bump.

"You look tired, Scully. " He said slightly apologetically, obviously trying to lessen the tension that filled the air.

" I am."

" Try to get some sleep." Mulder replies gently, looking over at her.

" I can't sleep like this. Not with all these bumps."

He stayed quiet, continuing to focus on the wheel.

" Does it really bother you to not be driving?" Mulder spoke again as he stared ahead.

" It bothers me to see you drive yourself to exhaustion, yes. You've barely gotten any sleep in the past few days and neither of us have eaten anything besides for cheap drive-through fries. Running ourselves ragged won't help anything." Scully replied. " The next motel we drive by, we should stop at, get a room, and rest for a day or two. "

He again stopped responding. " Okay, Mulder?" She rose her voice.

"...Y'know Scully, the phrase 'get a room' isn't usually synonymous with resting." Mulder looked briefly at Scully, grinning from ear to ear mischievously, but his comicality was clearly not appreciated by Scully. She glared at him from the passenger seat .

" Mulder." She said firmly.

" Alright. We'll stop at the next motel we pass by. "

" Thank you." Scully smiled weakly.

As they both became quiet , once again the hum of the car's engine and the tires grinding against the rubble were the only sounds she heard.


	2. Chapter 2

The motel room was a small shabby room with strange and obscure stains dribbled across the walls and ceiling. Speaking of the walls- they must've been very thin as they heard the angry shouting of a man from one side and the loud creaking of a bed from the other.

It smelt like mold and must and the air felt sickeningly thick and damp . Despite this, this was far from the worst motel room they'd stayed at. Very far from it.

Scully laid the little baggage the two of them now owned nearby the bed,which comprised of a few sets of clothing and small trinkets too valuable to leave behind at home- well what used to be home. There was no home for either Mulder or Scully now. There was no apartment or house to come home to after each hard day. The closest thing to home were car seats they drove in day after day.

To the best of Scully's knowledge, she might never have a home again. And that was a horrible thought for her.

"At least there's running water in this hotel." Scully muttered as she laid back onto the bed, trying to push unpleasant thoughts of being stuck living on the run forever out of her head. Mulder lay beside her, leaning on his elbow. It was nice to be out of the car and in some semblance of a room. She could almost pretend that this was home if she ignored the hideous quality of the room .

It was a false pretense but a comforting one.

"Mhm" Mulder leaned closer to Scully, " But the real question is does it have cable?" He smiled warmly at her and she did the same.

" According to the sign they had 'color TV' so I'd assume so." She smirked.

" Someone should update those signs. " Mulder murmurs, leaning over her on the bed to kiss her. It's a long and passionate kiss, which was rare between them. Most of their kisses were quick little things and very rarely on the lips. She cherished each and every kiss, but none more than ones like this.

As Mulder retreated from the kiss , Scully rolled onto her side, facing Mulder. The two stared at each other in blissful silence. Contentment was spread across their faces.

" Thank you." She murmured, beginning to close her eyes.

" For?" Mulder replied.

" Stopping at a motel." Scully softly spoke, her eyes closed. " For listening to me for once."

Mulder didn't grace her with a reply to her comment, instead he reached over to run his hand through her lengthening titian hair. "Your hair's gotten long."

"I noticed."

" I miss your short hair. " He muttered, playing with a lock of her hair.

" Things change." She said blankly, opening her eyes to stare bleakly out into the corner of the motel room.

How things do change, she thought.

Scully's mind began to wander - back into places she'd hoped it not.

A year ago she was sitting at home feeding a newborn child. She was in some sort of normalcy for once then. Of course there was the face the Mulder, her partner and her baby's father , was absent. And she was alone.

But nevertheless, for once it felt like she was finally living a normal life.

And that, once again,was gone.

Now Scully was childless once again, living from hotel to hotel, and a fugitive. The only plus to any of it was that she had Mulder back.

When she was recruited by the FBI back so many years ago this was the absolute last place she had ever pictured herself being.

" What's wrong?" Mulder said, calling her out from the depths of her thoughts. " Scully?"

Scully redirected her gaze from the dreary motel room corner to her partner's tired face.

" Nothing." Scully moved away from him , siting up on the bed, folding her legs underneath her. " I just..." She shook her head and let out a deep bitter sigh. " Mulder how long is this gonna be our life?"

Mulder blinked at her, as if she had asked a ridiculous answer with the most obvious answer. " As long as it takes for them to lose our trail."

Scully let out a cold chuckle. " Them." She bit her lip and looked away from him. " Mulder don't you think if they were really looking for us they'd have already found us? And probably killed us? "

" Scully, we don't know that. " He said gently, sitting up next to her. " We have to stay safe. "

" Mulder, Burger King dinners, shitty hotel rooms, making cash of off pool and poker- this isn't a life."

" You mean it isn't a 'normal life'." Mulder said, a slight edge to his voice.

" Mulder." Scully warned, feeling the tension grow in the air. He stared back at her indignantly. Suddenly she let go of the bitterness with a deep breath. " No, you're right. We do what we have to do to survive. " She said hollowly, running her through her hair. Truthfully she was telling him what he wanted to hear- Scully was too exhausted for another fight. " I just wish it wasn't this."

" I know." Mulder muttered. " Scully it won't be like this forever, it'll be different one day."

" Will it?" Scully replied, staring directly into Mulder's eyes. As soon as she spoke however he got up and headed towards the bathroom, as if he hadn't heard her speak. She felt her heart sink. She knew why he wasn't answering.

" I'm gonna go take a shower, and test your theory that there's running water. Gonna join me?" He said with mock animation and a false smile.

" No, I think I'm gonna take a nap." She replied, avoiding his gaze. Mulder mumbled something and headed into the bathroom. Scully flopped back down onto the bed.

This'll never end, she thought, staring up at the stained ceiling.

Eventually her eyes had grown too heavy and she succumbed to sleep, allowing herself to drift away.

She dreamt of home.


	3. Chapter 3

third chapter! I rushed it a tiny bit towards the end, my apologies. I hope you all enjoy it and thanks for reading! : )

* * *

Two months had passed and everyday continued feeling the same to Scully. They drove. They ate cheap drive-through fries. They stopped at some dank place to sleep. They drove more.

Seven days a week. 24 hours a day.

That was life.

It was one AM according to the small old clock in the hotel room, which for once was a decent one . It was small and a bit dusty, but the walls weren't covered in stains , they couldn't hear obnoxious noises through the walls and the air didn't feel sickly. The water ran (and it wasn't a strange color) and there was cable. Most of all, it felt homey and welcoming.

As far as Mulder and Scully were concerned, this room was almost a retreat.

Although it's hard to feel that way when the air is brittle with tension.

They had arrived at the hotel about an hour ago, after nearly running out of gas. Scully was perched on the edge of the bed digging through a small bag, with lips pursed. Distress was painted on her face, distorting her usually stoic face. Mulder teetered on the edge of sleep a foot or so beside her.

" Mulder, we're running out of money. We barely have enough for a few more nights at a hotel, not to mention gas. " Scully said darkly, a slight undertone of panic in her voice. Mulder apparently had begun to daze out. This was clearly evident by his lack of reply and a small snort that sounded an awful lot like a snore.

"Mulder."

" ...What?"

" I said we're running out of money." Mulder went quiet . "Mulder." Again, he didn't reply . Scully sighed irritable and gave him a small shove. " Mulder!"

"...We'll figure out something." He slurred his words sleepily, lying face down on the bed pulling a pillow over the back of his head.

" What are we gonna do, then? Play poker and gamble the chance of loosing our money?" She said shortly, pulling the pillow off of his head.

" We can ask around and see if anyone needs help they're willing to pay for. Maybe someone needs help fixing a car or something ." He grasped the pillow and tugged it away from her.

" Mulder you've never fixed any cars, or anything for that matter, your whole damn life. " She snapped, biting the inside of her cheek out of frustration. He grunted in reply then grumbled something rude under his breath.

" Excuse me?"

" Nothing." Mulder finally moved from his dormant position and sat up next to Scully.

For a while the two were quiet. They sat silent in the brittle tension.

Scully knew there was an easy way to fix this but she also knew Mulder would protest to it, so she held her tongue.

Well, she held it as long as she could bare to: " Mulder I think it's time we settle down. I should get a job. A real one."

" Scully, no." Mulder spoke firmly and there was a tone of finality to it as if there was no discussing. It annoyed her- frankly it pissed her off even more.

" Why not? Mulder we can't keep doing this." She continued to berate him.

" It's too soon. "

" We can't do this forever Mulder. " He began to respond but she quickly cut him off. " And it has nothing to do with me. It has to do with the fact we have no money. No source of income. Soon we're gonna crash."

" So let's go buy a apartment and play house?"

" That is not what I'm saying, Mulder." Scully said firmly, trying to control her frustration. "I'm saying we should settle down somewhere , maybe momentarily, so I can find an actual job."

"Like what- working at Burger King?" Mulder replied drawly. He turned away from her and laid back down in an attempt to end the conversation.

" Mulder, I'm a doctor." She stared at him, growing more and more frustrated with his antics by the second.

" Scully have you forgotten we're fugitives?"

" Mulder, you're the criminal here. I've done nothing wrong-"

" Aiding and abetting the escape of a criminal -" Mulder rolled over onto his stomach and leisurely scratched at his chest.

" We don't know if I've been charged with anything. And as far as anyone knows I took off after giving up my child because it was too hard to take and I was ashamed."

" Which was coincidental with your lover breaking out of jail." Mulder snidely replied. "Scully even if you aren't charged with anything, they still know you're gonna be with me. They'll be able to find me."

" Then we separate until I get an established job. That way if they come after me. they won't find you. "

" No." That edge of finality had returned.

" Mulder -"

" I'm not leaving you. "

" Oh you won't leave me now but you had no problem leaving me before- alone with your newborn son for a year."

" I did that to protect you and William." He snapped. He got up, stood back and ran a hand through his hair. "Scully, I just think we need to stay under the radar a little longer. "

" How much longer?! It's been over half a year. Like I've said a thousand times , if they really wanted to find us, they would have found us. We would be dead. "

" Scully. "

" I'm done. Fine, whatever . I'm done arguing. We'll do it your way, like usual. " Scully gave a bitter sigh and threw the bag in her hands onto the ground. Mulder sighed and paced the room.

" Mulder, I can't live like this anymore. " Scully's voice suddenly became weak. " I can't do this. This isn't living." Her voice had begun to shake just so slightly.

" Scully..." His voice trailed off.

" Mulder don't 'scully' me. I can't and I won't live like this anymore. I won't watch myself or you waste away like this. "

" Then what are you gonna do?" Mulder spoke softly.

" I don't know. " She cupped her face with her hands. " I'll leave."


End file.
